Hammering Home Safety

Cartoon are rife with characters holding up a swelled, throbbing thumb caused by banging it with a hammer, trying to do some do-it-yourself home maintenance. The hammer is one of the most basic tools for a homeowner and one of the most useful. Unfortunately, users tend to take its operation for granted.

Workers and homeowners might scoff at the need for health and safety courses on Hammering 101, but the low-tech hammer can cause major injuries if not used correctly. Over 30,000 people are injured each year using hammers, most damage caused to fingers hit inadvertently and to the face from recoil and from debris blowing back. Called an impact tool, its force can indeed have a harmful impact on the human body.

Handle with Care

Handles are the way a worker or do-it-yourselfer makes contact with the hammer and controls its path. Making sure it is in top shape reduces the chance of most injuries.

A safe handle is free of oil so the handyman can get a firm grip on it. The shape should be ergonomic to properly fit a person’s hand. This helps him hit the nail with precision. The more control you have, the fewer times you need to swing it and the less chance there is the swing will go astray.

Different home repair and worksite jobs call for different handle lengths and weights. Be sure to match the tool to the requirements of the job. Never use a hammer with a cracked handle, or one that is loose or splintered.

The Hammer Head

Hammer heads are made to be strong and unyielding, packing a lot of power. When imperfections make it to break, it can cause significant injury. If it breaks and flies off while you’re swinging it, you or people in its path can get clobbered.

Another major cause of accidents is a chipped hammer head. The chance of chips is increased by these four factors:

when the corners are square

the strength with which a worker swings it

the harder the user hits the nail or other object

the more angles there are between the hammer face and the object being hit

Remember these four points to avoid problems caused by hammer head issues:

don’t use a hammer has has developed a rounded strike face

don’t strike a hammer face with another hammer

the claws on a nail hammer are not made to be used as pry bars

don’t use a hammer with a chip on the face

Proper Use of a Hammer

After you’ve determined that your hammer is in good shape, use good form when you use it. Since hammers are so common and low tech, there is a myth that anyone can use one effectively and safely, that there is simply no trick to using one. It’s not true. Something that hard, operated with aim of creating maximum force and impact, needs careful handling if the operator is to be safe. You probably don’t need the help of health and safety courses to operate one efficiently and without injury, but you do need to use common sense.

When using a hammer, always try to hit the surface flat and squarely. Never attempt to hit the head of a nail at an angle. This often leads to injuries of the hand because you lose control of it.

Goggles are a good precaution for anyone with a hammer. The chance of debris blowing back into your face is real. Wood splinters, metal chips or bits from a wall or other construction material can injure your eyes. Safety goggles virtually eliminate this problem.

Start your hammering with a series of light taps that help to push the nail or other object into the surface, making it much more stable in the process. Hitting a stable target lessens the chance of injury.

When you swing the hammer, carefully draw it back, using your wrist to produce the power as you move your hand back down to hit the nail. Face injuries often happen because the worker pulls the hammer up and back wildly in an effort to produce more power for the downward hit. The more control you have, the less chance of injury.

Hammers are decidedly low tech. But never doubt their ability to cause serious injury if not used correctly. Stay safe by examining it before each use, looking for signs of wear and damage, and operating it with control.

~Mary Hannick

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safetyBUILT-IN is the safety-leadership learning and development division of SCInc. We believe sustainable safety performance is best achieved through a core-values based safety culture, and that culture must be driven by leadership. Our safety-leadership programs are competency-based, and focused on performance outcomes. We believe in building capability and ownership into our client organizations—as well as sustainability into our programs—so that our clients can continue running those programs long after we’re out of the picture. Our emphasis is on building better leadership presence, better leadership communication and better leadership coaching by first building relationships of trust with people and learning how to engage them on the level of their core values and beliefs.

“Outstanding workshop! It was far more than a safety meeting. This will have an impact on our operation. I am anxious to send my next level of management at the next opportunity.” Joe Gednalske, Director of Product Development

“This was one of the best leadership workshops that I’ve been to in my career (simple and effective tools)! It will help drive safety as a core value. I think it will really make people better leaders as a whole. That will drive our overall business in the right direction, starting with safety.” Shawn Myers,… Read more ““One of the Best Leadership Workshops””

In my 25 years of EHS work, I have never seen so much positive response from a Safety program. Typical responses identify the fact that this is so much more than Safety Training – it is Leadership training that will help them in all aspects of their employee engagement efforts. I believe, with continued leadership… Read more ““Transformational””

“Facilitator was one of the best, if not the best presenter and speaker that I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. I believe this training is important and pertinent enough to allocate the appropriate needed expenditures to ensure that ALL SUPERVISORS AND LEAD PEOPLE from every location in the pipeline attend. I was… Read more ““All Leaders Need to Attend””

“Being a manager of safety comes with many challenges. I have learned over time that the traditional style of safety compliance training, such as videos, generic presentations, etc., may not be totally effective for ensuring our employees understand the pertinent information presented, and how to utilize that information as part of their every day life.… Read more ““Gives Employees a New Way of Thinking …””

“What stood out to me the most was that coaching based on core values is more effective than citing compliance to policies. Every supervisor and manager should attend!” Pat Hodgson, SHE Manager | BAE Systems

“Strong and clear leadership course that brings practical and effective methods to identify opportunities, resolve them, coach, and drive results. Clear, meaningful subject matter, and fantastic materials. Love the ‘do’ focus of the course and the ongoing feedback–and the facilitator actually practices the methods during the course! Informs the mind, but superbly connects to the… Read more ““One of the Best Experiences …””

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“The safetyBUILT-IN team provided our employees with a perspective on how to view safety such that they want to be involved in leading safety in the organization. The program gave us simple, understandable tools and techniques for leading and coaching not only safety but every other discipline we deal with in the work environment. I… Read more ““Changed Our Mindset About Safety””

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“What stood out to me the most was that coaching based on core values is more effective than citing compliance to policies. Every supervisor and manager should attend!” Pat Hodgson, SHE Manager | BAE Systems

“I have attended other safety workshops in the past, but none has ever laid out the skills building and leadership qualities like this one. I was fully engaged the entire two days. I can’t wait to practice these skills.” Phil Laudolff | General Mills

“This was one of the best leadership workshops that I’ve been to in my career (simple and effective tools)! It will help drive safety as a core value. I think it will really make people better leaders as a whole. That will drive our overall business in the right direction, starting with safety.” Shawn Myers,… Read more ““One of the Best Leadership Workshops””

In my 25 years of EHS work, I have never seen so much positive response from a Safety program. Typical responses identify the fact that this is so much more than Safety Training – it is Leadership training that will help them in all aspects of their employee engagement efforts. I believe, with continued leadership… Read more ““Transformational””

“Facilitator was one of the best, if not the best presenter and speaker that I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. I believe this training is important and pertinent enough to allocate the appropriate needed expenditures to ensure that ALL SUPERVISORS AND LEAD PEOPLE from every location in the pipeline attend. I was… Read more ““All Leaders Need to Attend””

“The safetyBUILT-IN team provided our employees with a perspective on how to view safety such that they want to be involved in leading safety in the organization. The program gave us simple, understandable tools and techniques for leading and coaching not only safety but every other discipline we deal with in the work environment. I… Read more ““Changed Our Mindset About Safety””

“Being a manager of safety comes with many challenges. I have learned over time that the traditional style of safety compliance training, such as videos, generic presentations, etc., may not be totally effective for ensuring our employees understand the pertinent information presented, and how to utilize that information as part of their every day life.… Read more ““Gives Employees a New Way of Thinking …””

“Strong and clear leadership course that brings practical and effective methods to identify opportunities, resolve them, coach, and drive results. Clear, meaningful subject matter, and fantastic materials. Love the ‘do’ focus of the course and the ongoing feedback–and the facilitator actually practices the methods during the course! Informs the mind, but superbly connects to the… Read more ““One of the Best Experiences …””

“Outstanding workshop! It was far more than a safety meeting. This will have an impact on our operation. I am anxious to send my next level of management at the next opportunity.” Joe Gednalske, Director of Product Development